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The Beijing Auto Museum, located on the south fourth ring road, officially opened its doors to the public on September 23 after six months of trial operations.

With an exhibition area of nearly 50,000 square meters and housing over 80 vintage cars made in China and abroad, the auto museum is China's first government-funded public museum for automobiles.

The five-floor building is divided into several sections including a segment for cars with creative designs, futuristic concept cars and vintage cars, to name a few. The museum's rare collection of cars includes the world's first automobile invented by Karl Benz, the imperial vehicle used by Empress Dowager Cixi in the late Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) and the gift car presented to Mao Zedong by the Soviet Union.

In addition to the impressive display of cars, the museum also has an interactive area featuring an imitation driving school for children and a digital Formula One car racing experience area.

According to some reports, in order to ensure the collection was comprehensive enough and the museum was built to a high standard, construction on the museum took around eight years. An evaluation committee was established to draw up the exhibition catalogue and supervise the process of collecting cars in China and from other countries in the world. As a result, the museum now not only has more than 80 cars on display, but also boasts a massive collection of documents and file photos relating to automobiles.

The museum is accessible by a number of bus lines at the Yihai Huayuan Nanmen stop and an adult ticket costs 30 yuan while tickets for students are 20 yuan.